


One warm evening

by Victory_Fairchild



Category: Hush (2016 Flanagan)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Slice of Life, picknick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:15:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25282972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Victory_Fairchild/pseuds/Victory_Fairchild
Summary: In this AU, the man is dating Maddie Young instead of having invaded her home. They have a picknick with their friends, John and Sarah.
Relationships: Maddie/The Man
Comments: 3
Kudos: 13





	One warm evening

**Author's Note:**

> Hello lovely people! This is the first work I'm uploading to the internet, so hello, nice to meet you. If anyone ever reads this, that is, lol. This is just a fluffy little slice of life fic, and it's quite brief, as I'm not sure if anyone is at all interested in this. Please feel free to leave comments on thoughts, feelings and suggestions. <3 Hope you enjoy!

The clock’s hands point to 12, the long hand, and six, the short one. Outside the sky is still bright and blue, but the breeze coming in through the cracked door is cooling down. It’s been an unusually cold august, and Maddie shivers as she grabs the cat’s food bowl and steps outside to shake it.  
She jumps as something soft touches her leg, but it’s just the cat rubbing up against it. She didn’t see it, but it must have been right here on the porch.  
Maddie bends down to pet her. There’s a leaf stuck on her back, and she picks it off. Then she scoops the cat up with one hand under its belly and sets it down inside so she can close the door.  
She glances at the clock again. It’s time to prepare the last few dishes before the guests arrive.  
A jolt of happiness curses through her. She can’t wait to see her friends, and the occasion for their little get together is monumentally exciting as well - she’s managed to release another book! There were moments she doubted it was ever going to happen. Thankfully when she met her handsome yet mysterious new boyfriend, something about him allowed her to see through her story and pick the correct ending to go with it.  
Talking to him is magical, and strange. He isn’t like anyone she’s ever met before. There is an aloof coolness about him - he rarely gets emotional. But he isn’t boring, because he is smart, and understands how people work, and when he compliments you it’s like he looked at a blueprint of who you are as a person and appreciated the elegance of the cogs in your mind in just this place or that. Being complimented by Sam is an experience people don’t forget.  
Sarah likes him too. Nothing surprising about that, Sarah is a sweetheart. Her sign language rivals Maddie’s by now. Sometimes she uses signs Maddie doesn’t know. A rush of pride for her friend fills her chest when she remembers that.  
John has never met Sam, and today will be the first time. That worries Maddie a bit - John is a nice guy, but he’s sharp and judges people less favorably than Sarah sometimes. And there are things you could… criticize about Sam.  
Like the fact that he’s a sociopath.  
She’s known for a while, but hasn’t brought it up with him. She isn’t afraid of how he will react, but a part of her worries that he might not trust her once he knows she knows.  
Of course she knows. She’s a writer. Psychology is to her craft what paints are to artists. Her product is made from it.  
Regardless, Sam makes a wonderful boyfriend, and something tells Maddie he’s not faking his affection for her. There would be no reason for him to do that. He’s been perfectly successful and well-liked on his own. No need for a relationship to complete the picture of normalcy he’s built for himself.  
John requested there be beer to accompany dinner. Sarah asked for wine. Sam likes anything fruity, and Maddie, well… Maddie has never enjoyed alcohol, but she drinks it to blend in. Plus, it sucks being the only sober person in a group of drunk people.  
She’ll have whatever Sam’s having. After checking that enough drinks for everyone are being cooled in the fridge, she takes a bag of potatoes from an overhead cabinet. They’re having a barbecue, and in Maddie’s opinion no barbecue is complete without potato wedges.  
She cuts the potatoes with one of the ultra-sharp knives Sam gave her as a gift on their one-month anniversary, sets them on an oven tray and sprinkles them with oil, salt, pepper and rosemary. A timer on her phone will alert her by vibrating when they’re finished.  
She takes a moment to gaze at the picture of her and Sam that’s set as her lock screen, and shoves her phone back in her pocket. Time to-  
Maddie jumps violently as someone grabs her shoulders. She turns around, gasping but unable to make a sound.  
It’s Sam. He’s holding his hands up defensively, mouthing - or saying, Maddie can’t really tell - „It’s just me.“  
His eyes twinkle mischievously, and she huffs and pouts before kissing him hello.  
‚How was work?‘ She signs. ‚I missed you.‘  
He cups her face in his hands and strokes her cheeks with his thumbs. „Fine. Boring. I missed you, too.“  
Maddie smiles and kisses him again. ‚Help me cook. Need to do vegetables.‘  
„Vegetables? Why on earth would anyone need vegetables?“  
She cocks her head and scowls at him. ‚Funny.‘ Her sour expression indicates the sarcasm in her tone.  
He chuckles and opens the fridge, then the vegetable drawer. „Broccoli?“  
She shrugs. ‚Whatever goes with potatoes and grilled meat.‘  
Time rushes by as they work in silence. At first Maddie is confused when without a word, Sam leaves his cutting board and goes for the door, then she realizes and feels like slapping her forehead. She can’t hear the doorbell or the knocking, but he can.  
Quickly grabbing a few glasses, she follows him. Earlier they set up pillows on a waterproof picknick blanket blasted by an outside heater behind the house, and now they walk back and forth between the house and the blanket a few times to bring out the food and drinks.  
Her house is in the middle of the forest and the view is gorgeous. The air is heavy with humidity and freshly cut grass and blooming flowers. Maddie regrets she can’t hear the birds sing, or cicadas hum, or grasshoppers chirp or whatever sounds the fauna here creates. It sends a sharp bolt of pain through her chest, so she quickly thinks of something else.  
A string of fairy lights casts a warm glow over them as the sun dims. It’s getting cold, but the heater’s warmth lulls Maddie into such relaxation she almost dozes off.  
Sarah brought her copy of the book. Maddie couldn’t wait for reviews to trickle in to get some feedback, so she gave it to her before the company even officially released it. As expected, Sarah only talks about it in glowing terms, and Maddie is embarrassed of just how warm and good she feels when they talk about it.  
„So, Sam… What do you do?“ John asks, the look of suspicion in his eyes barely concealed.  
Sam is unshaken. He’s not the kind of guy you intimidate by implying you might not like him.  
„It’s boring, really. I’m chief technical officer for Red River Dynamics. Lots of meetings and paperwork.“  
John raises his eyebrows. „Wow. That’s gotta pay well. I see their name on the news all the time. Aren’t they like, really big?“  
Sam shrugs. „For a local company, I guess.“ He’s already lost interest in this conversation, Maddie can tell.  
„Maddie told me you make stuff on the side?“  
That catches John off guard. He smiles and looks down for a moment, seeming almost bashful.  
„Yeah, Sarah and I like to, uh, build things. We made a bench for our entryway, and our parents’ shelf broke so we remade it to be sturdier. Stuff like that.“  
Maddie taps Sam on the shoulder. ‚They made these coasters,‘ she signs and holds up the glittery resin slab she set her drink on.  
„Oh, damn, that’s cool.“ He takes it and turns it over, examining it closely. „You ever sell stuff you make?“  
John and Sarah exchange a look.  
„We’ve been thinking about it. We had some issues with-“ the next few words Maddie can’t read off Sarah’s lips, she’s speaking so fast. „But we’d definitely like to, one day. It’s something we love to do.“  
„Oh, well, good luck with that.“  
There’s a lull in the conversation. Maddie notices just how huge John looks next to Sam. Sam is of average height, and so are Maddie and Sarah, but John towers over all of them. He’s muscular, too, in a bulkier linebacker-way than the wiry strength of Sam.  
She doesn’t know why, but something about that sets off an unease in the pit of her stomach. The mental image of John looming over Sam, wailing on his face until his pretty green eyes are hidden behind swollen flesh, invades her head and sends goosebumps up her arms.  
‚Does anyone want more dip?‘ She asks after snipping her fingers to indicate she wants the others’ attention.  
There is a wave of shaking heads. Nobody speaks. Maddie sets the empty sauce dish back down and kneads her fingers together anxiously.  
„Maybe we could build something together. Maddie has been talking about wanting a picknick table for this area, and I have no idea how to make that. Doesn’t that sound fun?“ Sam asks out of nowhere. He’s not smiling and something about the calculation in his eyes he’s trained on John sends an icy chill down Maddie’s back.  
John and Sarah don’t seem to notice.  
„Oh my god, that sounds great! We’re gonna need some wood, we can cut that right there in the shop if we go to the one on Wilbur Street, and we’ll get screws there, too, and wood finishers. We already have tools at home. What do you think, Maddie?“ Asks Sarah. She’s gleaming so brightly Maddie can’t help but grin back.  
‚Awesome!‘ She signs and giggles a bit at the delight blooming on Sarah’s face. She shakes her ginger hair that seems to glow in the twilight of the summer night and Maddie signs a compliment at her, to which she protests, but grins anyway.  
Sam’s gaze meets Maddie’s. He smiles, not widely, but genuinely.


End file.
